Hardwood Floor Restoring help.

700hyvent · 11-15-2012, 02:49 AM

I have wax over polyurethane finish on my floor and I tried scrubbing the floor with everything and the haze is still there.

The floor is a 10ft by 10ft so 100sqft area,
I am planning on using a handheld random orbital sander and a shop vac to sand off the existing finish.
First vacuum up the floor get rid of random sticking out things, use wood putty to fill in gaps and holes, hammer down the nail, and prep the floor for sanding. First I will use the lowest grit sand paper the sander offers that us 80 grit, then I will use 100 grit, then 120 grit, and possibly 150 grit to even out the surface. Of course I will vacuum between switching pads and switch pads when the one I'm using wears out. After making the floor as even as possible, I am planning on wiping down the floor with mineral spirits or just plain water. I bought a gallon of cabot water based polyurethane, yes I finally realized its for furniture, NOT FLOORS. It is too late to return it so I will use about 4-5 coats of polyurethane to make up the "furniture" poly. (I'm wondering is this even possible)? Please tell me!
In between coats of poly, I will sand with a 150 or 220 grit sand paper so the next layer of poly will stick better. I want to use a finer grit paper because I don't want to rip out the freshly coated finish.
So basically I'm wondering is what I am planning on doing going to work. I know it will not be as smooth as what the outcome would be if I used a floor sander. That is why I am not planning on staining it. I'm fine with light colored wood. I will try and sand in 2 ft x 2 ft area at a time using minimal pressure on the sander.
My current floors do not have scratches that goes through the wood.
Please share your thoughts if it helps with my project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-uOa...eature=related
that guy did it.

My main goal is to get rid of all the finish and apply polyurethane over the no "finish" floor.

**oh'mike** · 11-15-2012, 05:54 AM

You sure could do a 10x10 floor with a hand sander.

You will go through a lot of paper----

avoid using water to wipe the raw wood----you did not identify the wood---if it's red oak---it will turn grey when hit with water----

joecaption · 11-15-2012, 08:15 AM

That wax needs to be stripped before sanding.
If not you will just grind it into the finish below and cause the new finish to not bond to the finish below it.
All that work and materials and not willing to use the right poly for floors?
90% of the outcome when doing something like this is the prep work.
Using a wood filler in the gap will do more harm then good. It will stick out because it's going to be a differant color, and not leave room for the wood to expand when the humity levels change.